Trait Driven HERO

This is a method of character design and mechanical resolution that is abstracted
away from player awareness and left entirely in the GM's hands. It is primarily
intended for use in a play-by-post format. It accentuates narrative play publicly,
but still relies on the robust HERO System engine for resolution privately, handled
out-of-band by the GM.

Implementation

Have the players describe their characters, but don't deal in game stats with them.
Have them express things their character is good at and rank them with numbers,
adding up to a total. Ill get to this in more detail below.

The GM then stats the player's concepts using the broad descriptions provided as
their guide.

The GM may or may not allow the players to see the final writeups, as they prefer.
It is recommended
that the GM does not, to avoid arguments and encourage the narrative aspect of this
method.

Usage

During play, have players narratively describe what they are doing, and you do the
same for NPCs. However, in the background you resolve things mechanically in a controlled
environment. This also allows you to not have to do segment oriented combat via
play-by-post which is tedious.

Awarding XP

After play starts, rather than assigning XP to players instead have the players
describe what
areas they would like to see their characters show improvement in, which the GM
interprets into the characters'
mechanical implementations.

If the GM decides to add other abilities, the GM informs the player(s) of their
character's new capabilities in similar
broad terms.

As there is a certain amount of vagueness involved, there is a wider tolerance for
point differences between characters as it gets interpreted via the GM's narrative
layer and the players
are not seeing the character mechanics directly.

Pros

Design Flexibility

If the GM decides to pad or shave a character a little bit, as seems fitting to
maintain parity between characters, the players will never really know. So long
as their characters seem capable during game play, it is immaterial. If during game
play you tweak out a character's mechanics based upon story elements, as long as
you narrate it appropriately it will feel natural to the players as they never fixate
on things like "hey! Andronicus has 17 more character points than Uaga now!".

Abstraction

This method adds an abstraction layer between mechanics and concepts. In a
narrative oriented venue, such as play by post, it eases the mechanical resolution
burden and focuses on the story.

Cons

Player Preference

The cons are some players want the mechanics. It may not feel like the "HERO System"
to some players due to its level of abstraction, even though you are using the mechanics
behind the scenes to keep it all straight.

Trust

Some players may not trust you as the GM to properly define their characters. This
one is pretty subjective, really. Some groups might really like it, or come to like
it, some might never buy into it.

Tell each player they have 15 Fate Points with which to define their characters
with labeled Traits. Each character must have at least three Traits, and characters
can't spend more than 6 Fate Points on any give Trait. As the GM, you need to have
some discussion around what each Trait means to each player to avoid confusion;
alternately a brief description of the Trait can be required.

If you are using Race Packages, you can translate the cost of Race Packages into
Fate Point costs. Thus if to be an Elf costs 2 Fate Points, an Elf character has
13 Fate Points to spend on other things (using our example model)

In this example, we have four players: Joe, Fred, Mike, and Amy. They define their
characters as follows.

Andronicus

Joe is playing the Wizard Andronicus, who Joe wants to be a brainy but capable gentleman
adventurer.

Smart: 5; Andronicus is well educated, quick thinking, and seldom at a loss
for what to do. He is also multi-lingual.

Magic: 6; Andronicus is very dedicated to his mystical arts and should be
as capable at it as is allowed for a starting character. Andronicus should have
a good selection of spells, covering his bases. He's smart so he likes utility spells
that give him options. For damage spells he avoids collateral damage and opts for
"smart" spells that can be targeted precisely / safely over splashy spells that
might have unintended side effects. He should be accurate with his spells.

Agile: 2; Andronicus is slim and nimble and fleet of foot

Rugged: 1; Andronicus is fit and tougher than he looks

Connected: 1; Andronicus has ties to academia and intelligentsia

When designing this character, the GM might spend approximately 50 points on things
that make the character "smart" and knowledgeable, approximately 60 points on his
magic, approximately 20 points on agility (DEX, SPD, Run, etc), approximately 10
points on being tougher than average (which could be CON, BODY, STUN, PD, ED, etc),
and finally approximately 10 points on social connections.
(Example: Andronicus)

Uaga the Bold

Fred is playing Uaga the Bold, a bold barbarian which he defines as follows:

Physical: 6; Uaga is a Howard-style barbarian, this dude is mighty

Killing Stuff: 6; Uaga is super lethal

Barbarian: 2; Uaga is skilled in the wilderness, can survive on wood chips
and gravel, and tracks pretty good

Stud: 1; Uaga is well liked by the ladies

When designing this character, you spend approximately 60 points on making Uaga
a beefcake, approximately 60 points on making him a killer, approximately 20 points
on skills like survival, tracking, stealth, shadowing, PS: Hunting, etc, and approximately
10 points on COM and Seduction. (Example: Uaga)

Gibs Lightfinger

Mike is playing Gibs Lightfinger, a halfling pickpocket and general thief. You've
defined a Halfling package that costs around 20 points, thus to be a halfling costs
2 Fate Points. Gibs is defined as:

Halfling: 2; being a halfling is a core part of Gibs' identity, and he has
a fair number of the stereotypical traits of his people.

Sneaky: 3; Gibs is good at getting in and out of places unseen, even for
a halfling

Charismatic: 2; Despite his profession, people find it hard not to like Gibs

Knows People: 2; Gibs knows lots of people living on the low down and often
benefits from his network of peeps

Tumbler: 2; Gibs is a skilled tumbler / acrobat and can pull off tricks in
conjunction with moving around in tight spaces

At this point its pretty clear that this translates into approximately 40 points
in thiefy abilities, approximately 30 points in stealthy abilities, approximately
20 points in interaction and PRE, and so forth. (Example: Gibs)

Vailia the Pure

Finally, Amy is playing Vailia the Pure, Cleric of Dionicus the White. She defines
Vailia as so:

Musician: 1; Vailia is a skilled singer and lutist, and also knows how to
dance. She learned these skills as a child growing up in a traveling circus; the
circus was waylaid by bandits when she was a teen and she was taken for sale as
a slave, but was later freed by a band of warriors pledged to the service of Dionicus
the White. She was taken to a Church of Dionicus and given shelter. She eventually
found the faith and entered the seminary.

Up and Comer: 1; Vailia is considered to be an up an comer in her churches
hierarchy, and has preferential status

Pure: 6; Vailia is divinely protected from unpleasantness, even to the point
of dirt and grime finding no purchase upon her sparkling white raiment. Blades turn
away from her, as do mystic assaults. The level of divine protection she benefits
from is high and seen as a sign of Dionicus's favor by the Church.

Divine Magic: 4; Vailia is fairly good at channeling divine magics; she should
be a capable healer, some light oriented abilities, and some protective magics.
Any offensive magics should be specifically against evil or dark forces, rather
than general purpose attacks.

Wise: 2; Vailia is well grounded in spiritualism and theology, and is very
intuitive. She sometimes finds an answer where pure logic fails to.

Staff-weilder: 1; Vailia is skilled at using her staff defensively, and can
use it offensively if she has to

It should be evident at this point how you would go about spending points to make
this character. (Example:
Vailia)